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antonomasia
3 dictionary results for: Antonomasia
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
an·to·no·ma·sia       [an-tuh-nuh-mey-zhuh] Pronunciation Key
–noun
1.Rhetoric. the identification of a person by an epithet or appellative that is not the person's name, as his lordship.
2.the use of the name of a person who was distinguished by a particular characteristic, as Don Juan or Annie Oakley, to designate a person or group of persons having the same characteristic.
[Origin: 1580–90; < L < Gk, verbid of antonomázein to call by a new name, equiv. to ant- ant- + onomat- s. of ónoma name + -ia -ia]

—Related forms
an·to·no·mas·tic       [an-tuh-noh-mas-tik] Pronunciation Key, an·to·no·mas·ti·cal, adjective
an·to·no·mas·ti·cal·ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
an·to·no·ma·sia       (ān'tə-nə-mā'zhə)  Pronunciation Key 
n.  
  1. The substitution of a title or epithet for a proper name, as in calling a sovereign "Your Majesty."
  2. The substitution of a personal name for a common noun to designate a member of a group or class, as in calling a traitor a "Benedict Arnold."


[Latin, from Greek antonomazein, to name instead : anti-, instead of; see anti- + onomazein, to name (from onoma, name; see n-men- in Indo-European roots).]

an'to·no·mas'tic (-mās'tĭk) adj., an'to·no·mas'ti·cal·ly adv.
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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Antonomasia

An`to*no*ma"si*a\ (?; 277), n. [L., fr. Gr. ?, fr. ? to name instead; ? + ? to name, ? name.] (Rhet.) The use of some epithet or the name of some office, dignity, or the like, instead of the proper name of the person; as when his majesty is used for a king, or when, instead of Aristotle, we say, the philosopher; or, conversely, the use of a proper name instead of an appellative, as when a wise man is called a Solomon, or an eminent orator a Cicero.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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